Lawnmowers

[Gav 110]

The missus has been complaining about how hard the old masport is to start for years, on the weekend the muffler fell off, I gotta phone call asking if it was alright to keep mowing without a muffler(my comment of “yes but you’ll soon know how my ears feel” didn’t click until a day later), next a bit of steel next to the catcher underneath the mower came loose and created more of a racket. So when I got back from the farm I found a half mowed lawn and a grumpy wife.
I’ve been told we need a new mower, one that’s easy to start, preferably one that doesn’t need petrol
So has anybody got one of these fan dangled battery operated jobbies, if so how good are they
I’ve got a Milwaukee 18volt chainsaw with the HO 12 amp hour battery and it does its job well until the battery goes flat and needs charging again (gives me enough time to fit in a sherbet or 2 (or 3 or 4, ok ok maybe 6 or 8 but who’s counting)
The bigger jobs I pull out the old Husky or the little Stihl and the bottle of two stroke
Anyways, battery mowers, do they cut it🤣
Are they any good
The wife has a selection of Ryobi in her toolkit so that would be the first option as we (she) already has the batteries
Milwaukee doesn’t make one (yet) so my batteries are safe in the van (and at the farm)
What else is around?
Or do I just go and buy another petrol model (maybe electric start)
The lawn at home isn’t huge (100 odd square metres out the back and the same out the front (soon to be gone)
Suggestions please......
[emoji481][emoji481][emoji481][emoji481]
Gav

[Bigbjorn]

A fat crossbred wether. A gaggle of geese. Either are great at eating grass and on the barbie or spit roast. Don't get a gander though. Geese are impossible to live with when they have goslings to protect. They do keep intruders off your property.

[Gav 110]

A fat crossbred wether. A gaggle of geese. Either are great at eating grass and on the barbie or spit roast. Don't get a gander though. Geese are impossible to live with when they have goslings to protect. They do keep intruders off your property.

Alright for the farm but not in suburbia
I’ve already had complaints when I brought a couple (10) of kids back from the farm to hand raise
The calf didn’t go down well with the neighbours either
The geese will create more work for me whereas the mower is the missusis domain

[Slunnie]

My uncle is a Ryobi exec and sent my parents a battery powered Ryobi push lawnmower. I've got to say, I thought it was going to be a massive load of rubbish but they love it. It runs on batteries and its really light weight so its easy for mum to push. The lawns always come out looking good also. They've had it for quite a while now and its still going strong. I just had a look on the website and it looks like Bunnings might stock them.

[Arapiles]

How much lawn are we talking about?

If you already have the 18 volt Ryobi batteries there’s a Ryobi mower that takes two of them, otherwise you’re probably looking at the 36v ones.

My experience with the trimmers is that brushless motors are better - I have a new Ryobi brushless 18v trimmer that’s not far off my Honda 50cc 4 stroke trimmer. So, you’d probably want brushless if that’s available and I’d guess that higher voltages would be even better. You’ll also need a multi-charger and a couple of large amp batteries if there’s a lot to mow.

But for the lawns my Honda 4 stroke mower is brilliant, it literally starts every time on the second pull, even after sitting in the shed for months.

[trout1105]

My sister bought one of those cheap Ozito battery lawnmowers from Bunnings about 5 years ago to do the house lawns, To my great surprise it is still going strong.

[Homestar]

I've been waiting on my cheap Chinese petrol mower to die for years now so I can a battery powered unit - I've got around the same - 100 square meters or so out the back only. My Son just bought the 18 volt Ryobi battery mower (as I have the 18 volt line trimmer so he borrows that as needed) and loves it - again, only a small yard, but does the job very well.

I have both the 18 and 36 volt Ryobi gear so I'll probably grab the 36 volt mower eventually, which I'm confident will do what I need it to.

[Scouse]

the mower is the missusis domainPray tell! How did you manage to do this?

[Gav 110]

Pray tell! How did you manage to do this?

I encourage the kids to take responsibility for things around the house in Perth
Picking up the dog turds, stacking the dishwasher, mowing the lawn etc
When I’m at the farm and the kids are playing up, the jobs still have to be done and the only person left to do them is the good wife[emoji12]

[Gav 110]

I've been waiting on my cheap Chinese petrol mower to die for years now so I can a battery powered unit - I've got around the same - 100 square meters or so out the back only. My Son just bought the 18 volt Ryobi battery mower (as I have the 18 volt line trimmer so he borrows that as needed) and loves it - again, only a small yard, but does the job very well.

I have both the 18 and 36 volt Ryobi gear so I'll probably grab the 36 volt mower eventually, which I'm confident will do what I need it to.

Thanks Homestar
Im wondering how they go when the grass gets a “bit long in the blade”
As I have just mentioned to Scouse, the kids are supposed to mow it but when “dads away the kids will play” and the lawn gets ignored for a while until the wife gets sick of trying to make her way through the jungle to feed the cockies (another job the kids are meant to do)

I’m sure if I got a new toy, there would be punch ups over who’s mowing the lawn, but the novelty will wear off pretty quick

If only they made a mower that can be controlled via the PlayStation, the lawn wouldn’t get a chance to grow[emoji848]
The boys would want one each to have mower wars🤣🤣

Maybe an automatic mower is the go

HUSQVARNA AUTOMOWER(R) 315X Robotic Lawn Mower (https://www.husqvarna.com/au/products/robotic-lawn-mowers/automower-315x/967852706/)

I’m sure it would keep the dog entertained [emoji106][emoji106]

[goingbush]

I was raving about my 80V Victa a while ago, but got a bit hard for me to push (shoulder issue) so upgraded to a Sthil 36V self propelled, It literally eats the Victa for lunch, and quite inexpensive too.

[Scouse]

It literally eats the Victa for lunch, Pics or it didn't happen :)

[travelrover]

How about a robot mower? Our local mower repair place has one running up and down the grass strip out side their place constantly. Apparently it automatically returns to charge when needed. Not sure how you set the mowing parameters but am sure it is pretty easy.

There seem to be plenty of choice out there now, and not ludicrously expensive.

Cheers - Simon

[trout1105]

There is always This [bigwhistle]

164522

[JDNSW]

My son got an electric mower - can't remember what type. It did very well until they had a spell where it was too wet to mow - but the grass grew! It then would not look at the grass. When this happens he has to get someone in to mow it down to what the electric one can handle. And try to keep it that low.

[1950landy]

When my Chinese self propeled needs replacing I was thinking the other day when I bought a Makita battery line trimmer zi wonder if they have self propeled battery mowers. Must look them up. At the moment I am using the fuel out of Landy to fill the mower while Landy is in lockdown.

[Gav 110]

Speaking to a few customers and there employees (whilst working of course), and the consensus is that with the Ryobi 18volt model, if you have a couple of unwilling helpers such as my kids, and the grass gets too long, you need petrol power to get back to a suitable length
Also the robot mowers need the lawn trimmed and they will keep it to length
I’m sure they are the way to go, but the dog might be there undoing (or the undoing of the dog)☹️
After reading this
The Best Battery Powered Lawn Mowers in Australia (2019) (https://www.experteasy.com.au/blog/the-best-battery-powered-lawn-mowers-australia/)
It might be worthwhile spending the extra spondullas and going for the 84 volt Masport if the boss can stretch her short arms, with 5 year warranty on mower and battery, 1.5kw motor, the only downside is the non removable battery which creates more work for me installing a power outlet close the the mowers home
I might do a “work related trip” to the big green shed and inspect the Victa and the AEG before an impulse buy of the Masport
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[DiscoMick]

Go the Ryobi if you already have Ryobi batteries and chargers.
If the lawn gets long, just raise the height of the mower for the first cut. Many people cut their lawns too short anyway, so a thicker lawn will be healthier.
Think of the electric mower as a circular saw or other power tool on wheels and you will be impressed.
No more mucking around with annoying petrol mowers that won't start and never have to buy fuel again.